‘Bag-clip’ types of closures are commonly used for holding closed the necks of flexible bags. Generally, these closure clips, also referred to as simply as ‘closures,’ ‘clips,’ or ‘bag-clips,’ are formed of semirigid flat, plastic material, and can be manufactured and handled in bulk as multi-closure strips of such clips, which can be separated by the automated breaking the connections between the adjacent clips of the strip, as each individual clip applied to a bag in succession. Conventionally, the individual clips in these strips are ‘frangible’ from adjoining, neighboring clips, in that they break apart easily to separate from the remaining strip of clips. These conventional clips have one or more ‘tabs’ or ‘webs’ that physically adjoin and interconnect each clip to the neighboring clip in the strip. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,164,249; 3,164,250; 4,333,566; and 4,911,293, all show examples of these interconnected clip strips employing this conventional tabbed material interconnection between clips.
Several difficulties are exemplified in these prior configurations and designs of clip strips, which are separated from the strip, either manually or with a machine, by physically breaking webs or tabs of material that interconnect adjacent clips in the strip. Occasionally, and especially if the machines are in poor operating condition, the webs or tabs that interconnect adjacent clips will not shear off as desired, leaving the separated clip with jagged protrusions or ejecting a residual tab piece. This residual piece may be very small, but can hamper or foul the clip handling and bagging machinery, or end up as a contaminant into the clipped item. In addition to obtaining a clean break in the material along the separating edge of each clip, it is also necessary that the webs, tabs, or other material that interconnects adjacent clips has sufficient strength while connected in the form of the strip, so that clips do not break and detach prematurely during machine or manual handling of the strip, or in an automated process for applying the clip to an article.
The following is a disclosure of the present invention that will be understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Reference characters included in the above drawings indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, as discussed herein. The description herein illustrates one preferred embodiment of the invention, in one form, and the description herein is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner. It should be understood that the above listed figures are not necessarily to scale and may include fragmentary views, graphic symbols, diagrammatic or schematic representations, and phantom lines. Details that are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention by one skilled in the technology of the invention, or render other details difficult to perceive, may have been omitted.